The present invention relates to a clamp for securing adjacent sides of a pair of longitudinal structural members such as metal tubing.
Various types of clamping or fastening devices of this nature are known.
The most simple is the nut and bolt. Although inexpensive in material this method involves the drilling of holes which is time consuming. If, for example, one wishes to erect a structure out of metal tubing by drilling and bolting, he or she must have some sort of supporting help while bolting the members. Also some form of bracing is required, usually by bolting on diagonal members. A problem can be the misalignment of holes, especially if the structural members come pre-drilled.
There are available, scaffold clamps. One type of scaffold clamp is very effective. One person can clamp this device to one tube very quickly with a few blows of a hammer, then apply the other tube by the same method and it is done. The scaffold clamps hold the tubing very rigidly so that no diagonal bracing is usually required.
The disadvantages to scaffold clamps are that they are overbuilt and expensive for some uses, for example, light greenhouses. Another disadvantage is that these clamps are limited to only a few sizes. A further disadvantage is that these clamps are bulky and protrude from the structure causing problems with any covering material.
What is desirable are clamps that fit several sizes and shapes of structural material, are build lightly enough but still do the job, are simple and easy to operate, and are inexpensive enough to justify the saving in time realized by their use. The present invention relates to a clamp for more easily and inexpensively securing the adjacent sides of structural members.